2025 list of NSW regions with slowest, fastest police response times revealed

Sydney residents are experiencing a postcode lottery when it comes to police response times with residents in parts of the city’s west waiting up to four times longer for emergency call-outs than those in the city’s east.

Victims of crime in Sydney’s west are waiting far longer than those in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for police to respond to priority call-outs as new data reveals the fastest and slowest parts of NSW for police emergency response times.

Camden, The Hills, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Bankstown Police Districts have topped a list of the slowest regions in greater Sydney for police to respond to emergencies such as threats to life, violent assaults, robberies and domestic violence.

Of the top 10 slowest regions for priority calls, nine were located west of Sydney’s CBD with Bankstown, Fairfield, Campbelltown and Liverpool all recording average response times up to two times slower than parts of the east.

The Camden police district had Sydney’s slowest response time for priority calls at 12 minutes and 6 seconds – almost two minutes slower than response times five years ago.

Kings Cross, Surry Hills, Leichhardt, Eastern Suburbs, Sydney City and the Inner West had the fastest police times with average response rates below seven minutes.

New figures have revealed the locations with the state’s fastest and slowest priority response times.

The data, released by Police Minister Yasmin Catley, unsurprisingly shows vast regional police districts had the slowest overall police times across NSW with emergency callers waiting up to four times longer to hear the sound of sirens as those in parts of inner Sydney.

The Barrier police district – which spans 27 per cent of the state’s total area including Broken Hill – had an average response time of 18 minutes and 21 seconds.

There have been more than 200,000 calls from members of the public to NSW Police this financial year.

The Mid North Coast, Murrumbidgee, South Coast, New England, Orana-Mid Western rounded out the top five, all recorded average response times slower than 15 minutes.

NSW Police, in a statement, said urgent response times can be affected by various factors, including the number of urgent calls, distance of required travel, traffic congestion, weather events, and peak periods.

“Response times can also be affected when prioritising certain high-risk jobs such as domestic violence or life-threatening incidents,” a police spokesman said.

“These factors also vary depending on the location, which subsequently impacts the individual benchmark set for that police district or command.”

Camden, The Hills, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Bankstown Police Districts had Sydney’s slowest response times.

The data shows Camden had the largest increase in police response times compared to five years ago followed by Fairfield, Burwood and Campbelltown.

There have been improvements in other parts of the state including Cumberland where response times have recorded marked reductions over the past five years.

NSW opposition police spokeswoman Paul Toole said the data could be indicative of a shortage of frontline police officers in NSW underpinned by recruitment challenges and large numbers of officers on leave,

Police data shows there were 1096 fewer serving police officers in NSW last financial year compared to the same period five years ago.

NSW Police said factors that can influence response times have included population growth and traffic congestion.

“When some residents wait up to 19 minutes for help in an emergency, and the west is seeing response times up to three times slower than the east, something is clearly seriously wrong,” Mr Toole said.

“This is about people and every second people are left waiting is a concern for their safety.”

The figures come after a Productivity Commission report found NSW Police attended 79.8 per cent of urgent response calls within the 12 minute benchmark last financial year – an improvement from the 73.9 per cent figure in the previous 12 months.

The report showed the number of urgent response calls have soared over the last five years from 147,913 calls in 2019-20 to 218,551 in 2024/2025.

NSW Police said factors influencing response times in Bankstown, Camden and The Hills regions have included population growth and traffic congestion.

“The safety of the community is the first priority for NSW Police Force,” the police spokesman said.

“We continually strive to exceed community expectations in our customer service delivery, which includes response times.”

AVERAGE PRIORITY CALL RESPONSE TIMES

The below figures show response times broken down by police districts in 2024/25. Source: NSW Police.

Barrier – 18 minutes, 21 seconds

Mid North Coast – 16 minutes, 46 seconds

Murrumbidgee – 16 minutes, 20 seconds

South Coast – 15 minutes, 58 seconds

Water Police – 15 minutes, 40 seconds

New England – 15 minutes, 36 seconds

Orana-Mid Western – 15 minutes, 11 seconds

Chifley – 14 minutes, 53 seconds

Monaro – 14 minutes, 48 seconds

Lake Macquarie – 14 minutes, 47 seconds

Hume – 14 minutes, 47 seconds

Coffs/Clarence – 14 minutes, 46 seconds

Tuggerah Lakes – 14 minutes, 39 seconds

Oxley – 14 minutes, 24 seconds

Hunter Valley – 14 minutes, 11 seconds

Murray Diver – 14 minutes, 7 seconds

Tweed/Byron – 14 minutes, 4 seconds

Central West – 13 minutes, 42 seconds

Riverina – 13 minutes, 39 seconds

Richmond – 13 minutes, 37 seconds

Central North – 13 minutes, 29 seconds

Port Stephens – 13 minutes, 27 seconds

Manning/Great Lakes – 12 minutes, 55 seconds

Lake Illawarra – 12 minutes, 50 seconds

Brisbane Waters – 12 minutes, 11 seconds

Camden – 12 minutes, 6 seconds

Newcastle – 11 minutes, 43 seconds

The Hills – 11 minutes, 15 seconds

Blue Mountain – 11 minutes, 15 seconds

Hawkesbury – 10 minutes, 30 seconds

Bankstown – 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Ku-ring-gai – 10 minutes, 23 seconds

Wollongong – 10 minutes, 21 seconds

Fairfield – 9 minutes, 41 seconds

Ryde – 9 minutes, 18 seconds

Riverstone – 9 minutes, 17 seconds

Campbelltown – 9 minutes, 10 seconds

Liverpool – 8 minutes, 52 seconds

Northern Beaches – 8 minutes, 39 seconds

Burwood – 8 minutes, 23 seconds

Nepean – 8 minutes, 23 seconds

St George – 8 minutes, 17 seconds

Parramatta – 8 minutes, 1 seconds

Cumberland – 7 minutes, 59 seconds

Auburn – 7 minutes, 55 seconds

North Shore – 7 minutes, 52 seconds

Sutherland – 7 minutes, 52 seconds

Campsie – 7 minutes, 37 seconds

Mount Druitt – 7 minutes, 30 seconds

Blacktown – 7 minutes, 20 seconds

Eastern Beaches – 7 minutes, 19 seconds

South Sydney – 7 minutes, 1 seconds

Inner West – 6 minutes, 14 seconds

Sydney City – 6 minutes, 1 seconds

Eastern Suburbs – 6 minutes, 1 seconds

Leichhardt – 5 minutes, 42 seconds

Surry Hills – 5 minutes, 6 seconds

Kings Cross – 3 minutes, 55 seconds

Originally published as 2025 list of NSW regions with slowest, fastest police response times revealed